Forward Unto Hope
by Number-Nine-Rules
Summary: There is a great disturbance in the Force. In order to ensure balance, the Force must bring new players into the game
1. Infinity

**I don't own Halo or Star wars. Please, leave you comments and criticisms, i love to hear feedback!**

* * *

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."

* * *

 **1627 Hours**

 **November 27th, 2555 (Military Calendar)/**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , Slipspace, en route to Earth**

Captain Lasky sat at the helm of the UNSC's pride and joy, the _Infinity_. She was a beauty. 5,694.2 meters and 907,000,000 metric tons of pure power. _Infinity_ , along with the rest of battlegroup Dakota, was heading back to earth. The recent attack by 000 Tragic Solitude and the Sentinels of the Ark had left the Home Fleet extremely weakened. Brass wanted Lasky and his 50-sum odd battlegroup back in Sol space to ensure the safety of their homeworld until the could scrounge up ships from around the galaxy to fill the positions lost. "Lieutenant James," Lasky addressed the helmsman. "What's our eta?"

"About 35 more hours, Captain." The young lieutenant replied, tapping away at his station. "We are making good time."

The helmsman was cut off by the navigations officer, Lieutenant Ryder. "Sir, there seems to be a problem." He shouted. His voice nearly broke from the commanding monotone that was required of officers under duress. "Something's pulling us from our course in Slipstream Space." He continued worriedly. Suddenly, the ship lurched to port as it was dragged onto a different course.

"What the hell?" Lasky replied, concern evident in his reply. "What does that even mean?"

"We are being pulled into a different stream by an unknown force sir." Ryder replied.

"James, activate the gravity wells!" the Captain shouted. They could try an emergency exit of Slipspace before they were drawn wherever they were being pulled to.

"I'm trying captain, but they won't engage! I don't understand, they were in perfectly working order when we left Draco III!"

"Damn." Lasky muttered, gripping the sides of his captain's chair. This seemed like it was going to be a bumpy ride.

* * *

 **Imperial Relay Outpost V-798**

 **Vaal, Gordian Reach, Outer Rim**

 **0 BBY**

Sargent Rybin of the Galactic Empire was bored out of his mind. Just another boring, uneventful day on this isolated monitoring station, only 2 other troopers for company. What was even the point of having a monitoring station here? The planet was an unpopulated dump, and there was nothing going on out here. He even despised the Empire a little. Had they forgotten about him and his men? He was listening to the sounds of his troopers shooting rocks outside when he heard an alarm go off on his console. Something was happening!? He shook his head, clearing it, and began to tap away at the console. He pulled up the sensory array and the deep space cameras. Foreign objects were appearing out of nowhere, and releasing strange, unknown radiations. 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, he stopped being able to keep track. He checked the video feed. Dozens of angular ships were plopping into their space out of nowhere. With slight hesitation, he began transmitting the data on emergency Imperial channels. He didn't know what else to do.

* * *

 **1700 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

"Gravity wells engaged, sir!" James shouted.

"Fantastic!" Lasky cheered, whoops and hurrahs sounded across the bridge. 'Now Navigations, where are we?" He followed up.

"That can't be right." Ryder tapped the side of his console a few times. "I've got nothing sir." He replied sadly. "I've got no clue where we are. But there appears to be a decent sized planet right near us." He pointed out the viewport at the planet before them.

"Comms, how many of our ships made it through with us?" Lasky turned to the young Lieutenant Jespersen.

The young woman tapped with purpose at her station. "Sir, I'm getting reports from 8 of our _Autumn_ -class heavy cruisers, 21 of our _Paris_ -class heavy frigates, and one of our _Vindication_ -class battleships. Adding to that, our 10 internally docked _Strident_ -class heavy frigates are all intact." She reported proudly.

40 ships, Lasky thought to himself. About 30,000 men and women under his care. In unknown space. So, it must be Tuesday. "Any damage?" He asked.

"Everything's a little jostled about, but nothing too serious. Some minor repairs need to be made to the pelicans and warthogs, as a few were knocked clear when we were torn from Slipspace, but other than that, we are good to go." Lieutenant Jet, the Engineering officer replied.

"Good." Lasky replied, staring out into the foreign space.

* * *

 **Imperial Star Destroyer _Defender_**

 **Vaal, Gordian Reach, Outer Rim**

 **0 BBY**

Captain Groh of the ISD _Defender_ was very displeased. He had been minding his own business orbiting Jovan III when he received orders to investigate an anomaly reported by a relay outpost on Vaal. Nothing ever happened out here. That was why he liked it. No rebel insurgencies, no messes, nothing to muck up his work. It was an easy life. They had been assigned a second star destroyer, the _Ascending Might_ , as well. Groh knew nothing of it or its captain, but apparently, they had seen many battles with the so called 'rebellion.'

Groh was lazily staring out the viewport of the triangle-shaped behemoth as they exited hyperspace. What he saw when they re-entered normal space nearly made him choke. Were they rebels? No, they couldn't be. They were to formidable. What he assumed was their capital ship was nearly 5 times the length of his own destroyer. "Ready Ion Cannons!" He shouted into the command well to his left. Imperial officers hurriedly tapped away at their controls. "I want firing solutions yesterday!"

* * *

 **1715 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

Captain Lasky was more than surprised when 2 triangle-shaped ships appeared out of nowhere to their port. They seemed to be about the size of an _Autumn_ class heavy cruiser. "Jespersen, you got anything on comms?" He barked, going into commander mode.

"Trying to hail them sir, but I'm not getting anything. I'm not even sure if they are receiving our messages." The Lieutenant replied worriedly. These ships were foreign, perhaps they sent messages differently?

The weapons officer, Austen, whom had been silent up until now, piped up. "Sir, we have inbound."

"What?" Lasky asked, before looking out the viewport. Coming at them from the strange ships were green lances of energy, on a direct course for them and several of their ships. "Shields to full!" He ordered. "Brace!"

The _Infinity_ took several of the hits, and was shoved to port a few meters. "Any damage?" Lasky barked.

"No sir!" Jet replied. "Shields took the brunt of it."

Jespersen gasped, spoke up. "Sir, 2 of our _Autumn_ 's, _Eternal Spring_ and _Last Hope_ took hits from their attack. Their shields were not able to sustain the damage. They've both been gutted sir. Survivors unknown." She finished sadly.

Lasky's heart skipped a beat, thinking of all those dead, in almost seconds. They hadn't had this much surprise since the covenant first attacked. "Roland!" Lasky shouted to the shipboard A.I. "I want the primary MAC ready to fire on the closest of their ships, now!"

"Right away sir." The yellow projection replied. "Ready Sir."

"Fire!"

The Magnetic coil located near the front of the ship charged up as it prepared to launch its projectile. Then, with a bang, 3,000 tons of depleted uranium was fired at 30,000 meters per second. The projectile streaked through the starry space and impacted at the port of the enemy ship, barreling straight through it. It seemed to Lasky as if the ship had no shields at all. It reminded him again of the UNSC's first contacts with the Covenant. "Target the other one." Lasky ordered, impressed with the results. The second coil heated up and launched another slug at the remaining ship. But this time, something different happened. The projectile neared the ship, but before it could impact, energy flared around the projectile and it was destroyed. But the kinetic energy still went through. The ship began to spin around its rear end.

"Again!" Lasky barked. For a third time, the magnetic coil warmed up and threw a chunk of depleted uranium at the enemy. This time, the shields flared, but the MAC round tore through the enemy ship, separating the T shaped bit from the rest. Lasky smiled. "Good work everyone." He applauded, and stepped over to the battle table, examining the digital recreation of their current situation.

"Sir?" Jespersen spoke up. "I'm getting a garbled signal, trying to get a lock on it.

"Put it on over the speakers." Lasky replied, and the sound of static mixed with odd noises filled the bridge. The noises seemed to get clearer as the officer tried her best to triangulate the signal. Finally, the static cleared, and the audio was understandable.

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?" a grizzled male voice echoed out of the speakers. "My name is captain Rex of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, can you hear me?" The voice continued.


	2. First Contact

**A/N Hey guys! back with my second chapter. I really appreciate all of the feedback that was constructive and helpful, it really helps me improve my writing! I'm still a little rough with these characters, so i appreciate everything you give me! I'm really sorry about how long passages turn out to be. When i write these chapters up in Word, they take up several pages, so its hard getting an estimate for how much i should write. As always, please leave your comments and criticisms below! Also, a small poll: What do you guys think of certain UNSC personnel discovering that they can access the force? I've seen it in other crossovers and i really like the idea. Let me know!**

* * *

 **1800 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

 **Hanger-02, Level 2D**

It wasn't long before the strange man and his odd-shaped craft was landing inside one of the many hanger bays on the _Infinity_. After some short communications, Lasky had determined that this foreigner was friendly, or at least not a hostile. He agreed to come aboard the _Infinity_ to give the captain information about where they were, and what exactly was going on.

Lasky was distracted as he rode the elevator down to the hanger bay, lost deep in thought. Where were they? Who were those strange ships? They vaguely resembled images he'd seen of forerunner ships, albeit more human-looking. Closer examination of the images recorded showed that these ships were not entirely smooth in their hulls. There were outcroppings, bumps, boxes, and irregularities. Definitely not Covenant or Forerunner. His mind then wandered to home. What was happening without them? Earth would be relatively defenseless. Thank God they weren't actively at war with the Covenant anymore.

He strode out of the elevator, Commander Palmer a half step behind. As they walked, Marines and SPARTAN IV's alike stopped and saluted the pair as they advanced to the oddly shaped ship with the strange man inside. They arrived at the ship, a small detail of marines flanking on either side, in the case that the man was hostile for some reason. The ship was wide and oddly shaped, sort of like a hexagon from the top view. It was widest in the middle, and thinnest at the sides. Is had a round bubble viewport sticking out the front, and 2 devices on the end that looked to be some sort of propulsion engine. There was a _hiss-pop_ and a landing platform lowered from the bottom, and someone stepped down. Lasky recognized the routine clanks of boots on metal, in step with rhythm. Whoever this was, he had real military training.

The man that stood before them was old. He had a white scruffy beard, and was bald, He wore extremely worn white armor, a stripped-down set, it seemed. But Lasky could see under the armor and bodysuit that this older man was still extremely built, and had the body of a career soldier. For this, Lasky had respect. Lasky extended his hand to the man, hoping that this gesture of peace transcended galaxies, or wherever he was. It seemed he was correct, as the older fellow grinned and gripped his hand firmly. "I'm Captain Thomas Lasky, welcome aboard the UNSC _Infinity_." He addressed proudly. "And this is Commander Palmer."

The other man replied. "Pleasure to be aboard sir. I'm Rex, I'm with the Rebellion." He looked upon the enormous hanger bay, and was incredibly impressed. "This is quite the fleet Captain."

"This is merely one of many hanger bays." Lasky replied, voice full of pride.

"And that fleet out there, I haven't seen something like that since the Grand Army of the Republic." Rex admired. He had seen how easily this ship had handled 2 Star Destroyers. If he could convince these newcomers to join the Alliance's efforts, things would be so much better. No more living on the run, cowering like rats in fear of the Empire.

Lasky smiled. "That's the second time you've mentioned this 'Republic.'" He said. "What is it? Those ships we just encountered? Pardon my questions, we are new here. We aren't sure where we are, or how we got here."

"No worries." Rex assured. "Those were Imperial Star Destroyers. Perhaps we can talk somewhere?" He asked. This hanger was large, loud, and packed. He felt at home. But this information was best shared somewhere more secluded.

"Of course, right this way." He gestured back towards the elevator. "Right this way." He then leaned over to Commander Palmer. "I want 2 fireteams Headed over to one of those ships. Reconnaissance and Recovery." He ordered. "Then meet us in conference room A13.

"Understood Sir." Palmer nodded and broke off from the group to relay the orders. She knew just who to give this mission to.

* * *

 **1907 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC _Paris_ -Class Heavy Frigate _Unknown Return_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

 **Hanger-03**

Fireteam Lancer and Fireteam Rhino were 2 of the most ambitious in the company. They preformed extremely well, and competed intensely against the other fireteams. Hawbaker, head of Rhino, kept his squad in line extremely well, but cared more about his team than any other SPARTAN Palmer had ever encountered. Hawbaker shook his head, clearing it, and examined his team. Smith, the Marksman, was busy polishing his dull silver armor. He liked it nice and clean. Fountaine, the specialist, was ensuring that his M247 Machine Gun was clean and in perfect condition. He was a little obsessive about it, but Hawbaker appreciated it. It made him distinct. Marzden was packing up clips for her Battle Rifle. She was always prepared, packing extra rounds in case they needed them. That had saved their asses more than once since they had been assembled. Gonzalez was sitting, silent. Preparing himself for possible battle.

A notification appeared on Hawbaker's HUD, a notification that they were nearing their LZ. He grabbed his shotgun and attached it to the magnetic clamps on the back of his armor, and opened a comm link with his squad. "Rhino, look alive. Pelican is up in 5. Let's move." The squad got up and fell in line behind their leader, and loaded onto their Pelican. Lancer wasn't far behind. Hawbaker nodded at Daniels, Head of Lancer respectfully. Daniels nodded back.

Before long, they were into the cold vacuum of space. Hawbaker steeled his nerves. They had no intel, going in blind. That put his squad at risk. He didn't like the idea, but he knew they could handle the challenge.

"30 seconds out!" The pilot barked over the intercom.

Hawbaker flashed a green light to his squad with a blink of his eye. 4 green lights appeared on his HUD, and the squad stood and loaded their weapons, safeties engaged. Hawbaker heard the echo of the Pelican's engines in a confined space. They must be in the hanger of the strange ship. 'Imperial', the strange man had said, or so he was told by Palmer.

"Depressurizing."

There was a hiss as the Pelican's bay came to equilibrium with the vacuum. Then, the bay door slid open, and Rhino and Lancer readied to face what was on the other side.

* * *

 **1800 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

 **Conference-A13, Level 13E**

Lasky waited for Palmer to join them before he let Rex explain everything. He trusted her, and she was extremely helpful to him. She was as close a friend he had these days. It only took about 15 minutes for her to enter the conference room.

"Ah, Commander Palmer." Rex greeted. "Glad you could join us." He smiled at the tall, built woman. A real soldier. "I was just about to give captain Lasky a brief rundown and quick history lesson."

Palmer smiled back respectfully and took a seat across the table next to Lasky.

"For thousands of years, most of the galaxy was unified by a Grand Republic." Rex began. "Then, a little over 20 years ago, a growing Separatist Alliance threatened the existence of the republic. They had an army of droids hundreds of thousands strong. And so, a clone army was commissioned. That's where I came in."

"You're a-a clone?" Lasky interrupted, surprised and shocked. The very idea of an army of clones shook his core.

Rex laughed. "Yes, I am." Anyways, we clones fought the droids and the separatists, led by Jedi generals."

This time, Palmer cut him off. "Jedi?" She questioned.

"Im getting to that." Rex continued. "The Jedi were beings who served the light side of the Force, this sort of energy that allowed them to do amazing things. Anyways, the Clone War waged for years before the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, Sheev Palpatine, ordered a coup, killing all the Jedi. Then, he declared himself Emperor, and ruled with an iron grip. I defected, and joined the rebellion."

"The Alliance to Restore the Republic." Lasky figured, his mind thinking through everything.

"Exactly." Rex finished. "What about you? What's your story?"

* * *

 **1800 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **Imperial Star Destroyer, _Error-Location Unknown_**

Hawbaker and the rest of the SPARTAN's hopped off the Pelican and onto the metal of the Star Destroyer with a clang. The tons or armor and soldier impacting with the cold metallic surface and echoing through the bodies and armor of the soldiers. The hanger, as he had assumed correctly, was a disaster. For one, there was nothing separating it from the cold emptiness of space. There must have normally been some type of energy field that kept the pressure in. But none of that mattered now. There were lots of destroyed, odd looking spacecraft in the hanger. They were round, with 2 flat plates on either end, tangential to the sphere.

"Weapons free." Hawbaker ordered, and flipped on his headlight. He also disengaged the safety on his shotgun. He heard several clicks over his comm as his squad mates followed suit. They made their way across the dead hanger towards what looked to be some kind of door. It was sealed. "Smith, see if you can splice it." He ordered.

"Affirmative." The taller SPARTAN responded, slinging his rifle and pulling out a small datapad. He attached is right over what looked like a console and began typing away. The UNSC's latest interfacing package was inspired from Promethean tech, but it hadn't really been tested on anything besides that. After a few seconds, the device beeped, and the door opened. An explosive force of air depressurizing nearly knocked the 10 SPARTAN's to the ground. They quickly forced their way inside, and the door shut behind them.

Hawbaker checked his HUD, and noticed that the hallway they were in was slowly depressurizing. There was power somewhere on this ship. That could mean contacts. The 2 fireteams progressed down the long hallway and came to a fork. Rhino took the left, Lancer took the right. Hawbaker noticed one very prominent thing-there were no bodies. That was odd. You'd expect a gutted ship to have dead bodies. The squad stopped when they reached another sealed door. "Smith." He said.

"On it." The ranger replied. He repeated the steps he took last time they encountered the door, but now it was faster. The package knew how to interface with this alien system, and what to do. The door was open in seconds. There was another explosive force when this door opened, but different before. This force was a hail of red laser bolts streaking through the door. Rhino scrambled for cover.

"Contacts!" Marzden shouted over the comm link.

"Yeah, we got that." Fountaine replied, and peeked out at their enemies, only to duck as a hail of fire came at him.

Gonzalez leaned over and took aim, letting his shields absorb the blaster hits. He took aim, and let loose a burst at one of the white-clad targets. The rounds flew through the smoke and penetrated the armor with a sharp _crack_ , coloring the white material crimson. "Their armor can't take a hit!" He shouted as he let loose another burst. More screams.

Hawbaker followed suit, stepping out and taking aim with his shotgun, and let loose a torrent of shrapnel. The sight was not pretty. He heard screams, and the white figures scrambled to retreat. The SPARTAN fired again. "They're retreating!" He shouted over comms, and the rest of his squad jumped into action. They took down 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 until there was only one left.

"I've got 'em" Smith shouted, and chased the final one down. He caught up fairly quickly, his augmented muscles and power suit easily outclassing the humanoid. Smith reached forward and shoved the stark white enemy forward, sending him flying into a wall. Before the trooper had a chance to breathe, Smith was already on him, forearm pinning him to the wall. Then with an armored hand, he reached up and pulled the helmet off, to see a human face.

* * *

 **1830 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

 **Conference-A13, Level 13E**

Lasky was conflicted. Although his face didn't show it, what Rex had told him filled him with concern. The story of the Empire and the Rebellion held some eerie similarities to the UNSC's own conflict with the Insurgency. But the Imperials were the bad guys, and the UNSC were the good guys. Right? Lasky shook his head and looked to Commander Palmer, looking to see if she was as conflicted as he was. He saw no solace in here face, no concern in her eyes. She was a soldier. Trained not to show these kinds of emotions. He cleared his throat, and looked up at Rex. "Very well. It is very clear that you and your people are in grave need of help, and the people here are in need of liberation. Until we can find a way home, I think doing those 2 things falls under UNSC protocols.

Rex smiled. "That's great! Ill send a message to the Alliance and let them know, and then we can head to Yavin. The council will want to meet you for sur-" Rex was cut off by claxons blaring.

"Unidentified ships detected! All hands, to battle stations!" The ship's AI ordered with urgency over the PA. The construct appeared from a projector on the table. "Captain Lasky, you are needed on the bridge. You're going to want to see this."


	3. The Battle of Vaal

**Hey guys, back again with chapter 3! I really appreciate all of your feedback. I also have another poll for you: what is your opinion on my use of original characters? I personally feel like relying too much on pre existing characters is kind of a crutch, but i don't want to make this all too weird. please let me know, as i really respect your responses. as always, please leave your criticism in the comments! It really helps me grow as a writer.**

* * *

 **1840 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

The trip to the bridge was pensive, to say the least.

The trio strode briskly to the nearest elevator up to the bridge level. Lasky had decided to bring Rex along for a couple of reasons: one, he knew more about their enemies than anyone else on this ship; two, Lasky didn't know where else to leave him; and three, He wanted to show the foreigner how well they operated. The ride up was mostly quiet, they were all soldiers with plenty of experience under their belts. Lasky looked over his shoulder and glanced at Sarah. They shared an assuring look. They'd been through a lot together. And they'd get through this.

As they strode onto the bridge, Rex had to admit: he was impressed. It wasn't quite like the republic capital ships he had served on, but there was a sense of familiarity to it. He was full heartedly in the rebellion, but he missed being a part of a strong, unified, formidable military. After all, that's what he was born for. Being on this ship, and getting on the bridge, reminded him of his time serving the Republic. The Jedi. His brothers. Rex shook his head and came to his senses-they were in a battle. He strode across the odd bridge, and looked out the forward viewport. At least a dozen ships had entered the system via hyperdrive. The fleet stood across that space above Vaal, assessing their enemy. "Fierfek." He muttered under his breath, receiving some odd looks from the bridge crew. A familiar voice caught his attention, and he turned. The short yellow digital image, some kind of droid, appeared on the large table in the middle of the bridge.

"Sir, I'm picking up 15 ships of varying size. Similar in design to the two we faced earlier." The projection said.

Lasky looked over to Rex, raising an eyebrow. "Friends of yours?" He questioned.

"Hardly." Rex replied solemnly. "I remember being on the other side of this picture, back when I served the Republic." He said. Those ships are formidable."

"Can you give us any intel?" Lasky asked. "Roland, give me the big picture." The projection nodded, and a 3D holographic display of the battle appeared.

Rex made his way over to the table, nodding. "These nine here, the middle-sized ones, those are Star Destroyers. The bread and butter of the Imperial Navy. They use them to unsure planets stay complicit. They're armed with 60 Turbolaser batteries and 60 ion cannons. The smaller ones, these five, are Light Cruisers. They carry four Turbolaser batteries and four Quad laser turrets. And that big one there, that's an Imperial Battlecruiser. She's armed with over a hundred Turbolaser batteries and nearly 50 ion cannons. Armed to the teeth, that one." Rex concluded.

Lasky whistled. "That's quite a bit." He understated. The Battlecruiser was nearly as long as the Infinity. But they had 40 ships. Not all of them were as big as the others, but still. That's when Lasky had a thought. "Rex, when we fought those other two ships, the first one took a hit from our main cannon and was gutted, while the other one could withstand it. Do only some of the ships have shields?"

Rex smiled. "You see, most of the weapons we use are energy based. So, we utilize two different types of Deflector shields. Ray shields defend our ships from blaster fire and laser fire, while particle shields defend from solid attacks. As blaster fire is the most predominant in the galaxy, Ray shields are the default and the ones that are powered up and ready to go. To engage the particle shields, they need to power off the Ray shields and recalibrate the shield projectors to particle shields."

"So, the both ships had their Ray shields up when they engaged us, but the second had time to switch." Lasky thought aloud. "Alright, we don't know how much information those ships we took out got to their friends, so we may only have one shot." Lasky gripped the command table. "Order the _Autumn_ 's to begin approach vectors. Their targets are the light cruisers. Notify all _Paris_ cruisers to get firing solutions for the _Star Destroyers_ , signified as targets alpha through indigo. We'll take the big one." People jumped into action, Roland and Jespersen relaying his commands through FLEETCOM. "Let's do this.

* * *

 **1800 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **Imperial Star Destroyer, _Error-Location Unknown_**

Smith was so shocked, he almost dropped his query. Almost. "Come take a look at this." He said over the commlink, ushering his squad forwards. The four moved up, guns raised in case anyone tried to surprise them. Alas, all was clear. Smith stared into the mans eyes, and saw a familiar emotion-fear. The enemy soldier was young. Couldn't have been older than 20, Smith presumed. "You're going to answer some questions." He growled through the speaker in his helmet. The SPARTAN dropped the white clad man, boxing him in with the rest of his squad.

Hawbaker cleared his throat. "First thing's first. Who are you?" He questioned.

The man stuttered a bit. "I-I'm Corporal TK-5133. Imperial Army." He said shakily, but with assurance.

Hawbaker couldn't help but laugh at the soldier trying to regain his authority. After years of fighting honorable and dignified covenant, this was kind of laughable. "Alright Corporal, what are you and your men doing here?" He questioned, stepping closer.

"W-we were ordered here to defend the ship from anyone who tried to board the ship."

"Ordered by who?"

"Captain G-Groh, the ship's Captain." He mumbled out. "He's holed himself up in the bridge."

"The bridge, eh? Well, I think we owe this Captain Groh a visit." Hawbaker said. "Alright SPARTAN's police those weapons, I'm sure the eggheads back on the infinity will love to see them. And get ready to move out, we're going to the bridge." Green lights blipped on his HUD and his squadmates broke off from their little interrogation circle and roamed the dead bodies, prying the strange weapons from their bloody gauntlets. Hawbaker found some wire sticking out of a hole in the wall, and reached for it. He gave it a tug, and it came loose, a solid 2 meters of wiring. He used this to bind the soldier's hands tightly. They didn't need this one giving them the slip.

Within the next few minutes the fireteam was ready to go. "Rhino, move out." Hawbaker ordered, and the group moved down the hall in unison. They stopped at intersections, and TK-5133 gave them directions, although not only timely. They mat very little resistance. Eventually, they reached an elevator.

"He's just up this elevator, on level 30." The Corporal directed.

"Uh-huh." Hawbaker nodded, before sending the butt of his shotgun into the back of the soldier's head, knocking him out cold. "Alright, we're probably walking into a trap,"

"Ya don't say." Muttered Fountaine, hefting his HMG.

"So, we need to play this smart." Hawbaker finished. "We'll hide on top of the elevator, luring out anyone who fires at it."

"Smart." Marzden commented in agreement.

The squad entered the elevator, and Smith punched the ceiling hatched, popping it off with a loud _clang_. "Ladies first." He chuckled, offering his hands as a boost.

"Ha-ha." Marzden replied sarcastically, but accepted the help. As did the rest of the squad. "Now, which one is 30?" He questioned as he stared at the alien control panel.

"The top one?" Gonzalez suggested.

Smith shrugged. "Good enough for me." He pressed the button and the door slid closed with a _hiss_. The SPARTAN scrambled up above the hatch, almost falling as the elevator began its swift ascent up to the top floor. The trip was quiet, as the soldiers readied themselves. They reached there stop with a _ding_ , and the room below was light up as bright red beams of light shot through the air, scoring the back wall black with carbon. They heard shouting, and the fire ceased. Footsteps echoed on metal, and the white blob of a stormtrooper helmet peered inside, and stepped in. Smith didn't hesitate, reaching down and grabbing the trooper's chest plate with a gauntleted fist. He pulled up hard, slamming the helmeted head into the ceiling once, twice, three times, and then dropping the lifeless body to the ground. Smith then swiftly dropped to the deck with a _bang_ and drew his sidearm, putting a large hole in the visor of the remaining stormtrooper. "All clear." Smith said, and the other SPARTAN's followed him down, and they filtered into the hallway.

"They must've been guarding the elevator." Hawbaker presumed, and looked down the hall. There were only a couple of doors, and one large, open bulkhead. "The Bridge." He assumed. The squad moved towards the opening quietly, knowing that their initial cover had been blown. Whoever was on the bridge knew they were there, but they didn't know how many, or when they would attack.

Marzden strode forward first, bringing her BR to bear and leaning around the corner. She found, on the end of her scope, an interestingly designed, yet empty bridge. The room was vast, and had 2 pits on either side of the central walkway. She stepped further out form her cover, scanning the room with her rifle. She turned to motion her team that it was clear, and that's when she heard it.

"Fire!"

A hail of blaster fire flew at the large armored soldier from inside the bridge. She counted five, seven, 11, 15, more stormtroopers peeking over the edge of the pits. Her shields took the first hits, but soon the sheer amount of blaster fire was too overwhelming for her shields, and they failed.

The rest of the squad jumped into action. Fountaine hefted the large machine gun and began to lay down fire. Troopers began to duck for cover, or they were hit. One of the two. There were so many, he couldn't keep track. He and Gonzalez stepped into the clearing, drawing away some of the fire that was directed at Marzden, who had ducked behind the far side of the bulkhead. The fire drove to a standoff. Smith raised his rifle and leaned over the edge. "I count…18 troopers, as far as I can see." He took a breath and squeezed the trigger. "Make that 17." He smiled under his helmet.

Hawbaker thought over their options. They had no idea if there were other stormtroopers on this ship. If there were, they could flank his team. Their best bet was to take the bridge, now, and have the captain order his people to surrender. They'd have to take things up close, and personal. "All right SPARTAN's. We're going in, CQB. Try to ID the captain and keep him alive, as well as any other officers." He ordered, receiving green indicators of acknowledgment. He pulled out his sidearm, steeled himself, and charged forward. It was a short distance to cross for the tall super soldiers, their augmentations and power armor allowing them to cross the bridge and into the trenches quickly. Hawbaker was immediately able to make out several enemies wearing grey uniforms and hats, they must be officers and bridge crew. He identified them with a few blinks as non-lethal, sending the info to his squad. Then, he went to work. He launched himself at the nearest stormtrooper, crushing him under the immense weight of his armor. He elbowed the trooper in the helmet for good measure. Hawbaker grabbed the lifeless body and pulled it over him as nearby troopers launched a volley of fire at him. The human shield took most of the fire, and his shields took the rest. Hawbaker raised his pistol and fired once, twice, three times, and blood-soaked bodies joined him on the deck. He threw the lifeless shield off of him at a group of troopers, knocking them over. Once they tumbled to the ground, he quickly and efficiently took them out. His shield meter started blinking, the integrity was at critical level. There had been more than 9 in this trench. Hawbaker ducked behind some kind of control station for cover. He counted 7 more, including 3 in the gray uniforms. He peeked out of cover and picked a trooper off. He heard something clink as it bounced on the ground near him. He saw a round object with a blinking, red indicator light. Some kind of grenade. Time slowed down as his adrenaline kicked in. his reflexes kicked in, and he entered what older generations had referred to as 'SPARTAN time.' He dove to the ground, swatting the device up and away from him. But this device had a shorter fuse than he had hoped for. It had only made its way about a meter from him before detonating. The soldier's shields flared before cutting out, and his armor was scorched. He felt the burns on his arms and chest. It stung. Hawbaker gritted his teeth and got up, taking another shot at the enemy. From the ground, he saw Gonzalez jump up from the other trench, cock his shotgun, and fire at the remaining troopers.

Hawbaker pulled himself up, and smiled as he saw his squadmates rounding up the grey uniformed Imperials. He heard the familiar sound of his shields re-initializing and recharging. He made his way to the group of rounded-up uniforms and searched them. "Which one of you is the Captain?" He asked as commandingly as he could through gritted teeth.

A proud-looking man stepped forward. His ruffled gray uniform was adorned with red and blue rectangles. Some kind of officer's insignia. Good enough for him. "Alright Groh, order your troops to stand down. I'm sure you have more on board." The man seemed surprised, which meant that he was indeed the captain. Gonzalez raised his shotgun at the man threateningly.

"Very well." He gulped, and pulled some kind of rectangular device out of his pocket. "All troopers, stand down. I repeat, stand down. That is an official order. We are under control of foreign enemies." He barked.

Hawbaker sighed. Finally, something good happening. With this out of the way, he could take these prisoners back aboard the _Infinity_ for questioning, and he and his squad could patch themselves up. He looked out the viewport of the alien ship and saw…not something that meant R&R.

* * *

 **1845 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

"Sir, all ships are in position and ready to initiate." Roland said calmly. "Awaiting your command."

Lasky stared across the vastness of space at their enemy. Who was on the other end of this assault? Why were they here? Lasky shook his head, those were questions for later. "Do we have firing solutions for the big one?" He asked.

"Yes sir. I have firing solutions for both fore MAC's." The A.I. replied.

Lasky grinned. This was going to be impressive. "All ships, fire!" he shouted. Through the viewport, he saw a remarkable sight. A 21-gun salute of MAC rounds from the _Paris_ 's, cannons being fired from the _Autumns_ , and most impressive, the dual streaks from the Super MAC's aboard the _Infinity_. There was silence as the tones of depleted uranium streamed through empty space and impacted with the enemy fleet. Each Star Destroyer had 3 rounds coming for each. As Lasky had expected, the captains of this fleet did not expect them to use projectile weapons, and had their ray shields up. All nine of them were torn up by the immense firepower. The 600lb shells cut through the oddly shaped ships like a hot knife through butter on Christmas Day. He saw at least 2 of them explode on impact, and 3 more actually cut in half. The rest were left floating through space with 3 gaping holes in their hulls. All without being able to let off a volley.

Unfortunately, the _Infinity_ 's shots hadn't been as effective. The shots hit, but they looked to do only minimal damage. And now that they knew their trick, the battlecruiser no doubt had switched their shields. "I want all ships to prep salvoes at that final cruiser." Lasky shouted. "Arm Archer missile pods A1 through E23. Have their detonation coincide just after our MAC rounds." He ordered.

"Sir, incoming enemy fire!"

"Full power to shields!"

A hail of green lances streaked across the sky. They struck various ships in the fleet, bombarding them. _Infinity'_ s shields flared, but held. Lasky looked out the window to a nearby _Paris_. _Power of Might_. It took one, two, three four hits from the enemy before its shields failed. Then it took another two hits. Lasky closed his eyes. He couldn't think about the loss of life right now. He had to stay focused. "Roland, what do we have to work with?" He asked.

"18 of the _Paris_ 's are fully operational sir."

"Fantastic. Are we ready to fire?"

"A few more seconds sir."

"Fire when ready."

"Aye, captain."

20 rounds streaked the darkness of space at the remaining battlecruiser, along with hundreds of plumes from rockets. It seemed 20 MAC rounds was the magic number, because while many of them were absorbed by the shield, several made it through, impacting the surface. Followed a split second later by hundreds of missiles impacted across the surface of the large ship. Lasky saw several explosions across the length of the ship. They had dealt some serious damage. Slowly but surely, Lasky saw the cruiser drift to the side, turning away from his fleet. Then, it disappeared. The crew on the bridge cheered. They had done good work.

Lasky turned to Rex, who looked very pleased.

"That was some fine fighting." He commented.

"Thank you. Now, go contact your friends in the Alliance. I don't want to be here when the Empire returns. We have some wounds to lick.

 **2000 Hours**

 ** _Error-Unknown Date_ /**

 **UNSC Infinity-Class Supercarrier _Infinity_ , _Error-Location Unknown_**

 **Conference-A13, Level 13E**

* * *

Lasky stood back in the hanger as a large craft made its way inside, and landed.

"That there is a CR90 Corvette. We call it the blockade runner. She's a dutiful craft. They're used pretty widely across the rebellion." Rex informed. It's big enough to take us and whatever compliment of troops you want to take with to Yavin." Rex said. "And that there, is General Syndulla. A close friend." Rex pointed to an odd figure stepping off the ramp. She was green, for one, and she had…two tentacles coming out of the back of her head. Lasky put his squeamishness to the side and strode forward to meet her, arm outstretched.

"Welcome aboard the UNSC _Infinity_." He shook her hand. "I'm Captain Lasky."

"It's a pleasure sir." She replied, shaking his hand back. "Rex, you weren't kidding when you said they had a whole feet." She said excitedly.

"What, did you think I'd lie about something like this?" He joked. Then he turned to Lasky. "Syndulla here is going to lead your fleet to some empty space, where the empire won't find it, or give away the position of our base. We are kind of in hiding."

"Very well." Lasky replied. "General, I leave my ship and my fleet, and my crew under your protection." He said sternly.

"I won't let you down captain." She replied. "I am also eager to see what this ship is capable of." She said, looking around excitedly.

"Don't mind her," Rex laughed. "She's a pilot at heart."

"Right." Lasky smiled. "Alright, let's get a move on. Let's meet this 'Rebellion' you keep talking about."


End file.
